Football



OC- 17, 1933. .1. l.. BUCKNER Er AL 1,931,429

FOOTBALL Filed Jan. 5, 1932 Ware? A Home y Patented Oct. 17, 1933 UNITEDSTATES FOOTBALL John L. Buckner and James Clay Ward,

Paris, Ky.

ApplicationY January 5,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved football wherein the feature of`distinction and refinement is found in the provision of a cover Whoseeaternal surface is constructed to minimize accidental slippage from thegrasp of a ball carrier.

It is a matter of common knowledge that present day footballs aredisagreeable and unreliable to handle in wet Weather, especially when itis raining and the field is muddy. It is evident therefore that inattempting to manuvre deceptive plays, a wet ball is elusive andfrequently evades ones grasp. This'results in undue fumbling detractingfrom the skill of plays which might be easily completed when the ball isdry.

SO far as is known, the regulation football embodies a leather casingand due to the porosity of the texture of the leather, it becomessusceptible of absorbing moisture to the extent that the surface of theball becomes sleek and frequently. so slippery in character as tointerfere with skillful handling. Obviously then, the inabiiity toproperly handle the ball for passes detracts from plays which wouldotherwise be accomplished with greater precision andprecisiveness. Y

We have discovered the need for the provi-- sion of a football whosesurface is provided with waterproof anti-slipping means calculated toexpedite and facilitate accurate handling and transmission of the ballirrespective of weather conditions.

in the drawing: Y igure 1 is a side view of the preferred embodiment ofthe invention.

Figure 2 is'an enlarged cross section on vthe line 2--2 of Figure 1. Yln the drawing, the rubber inflation bag is denoted by the numeral 3 andthe leather casing by thenumeral 4, while the lacing is designated at 5.These parts are of course of conventional construction.

Although the surface of the cover or casing may be constructedlotherwise to provide the requisite antislipping properties, we havefound it expedient and practical to resort to the constructionillustrated in the drawing wherein the cover is formed with a pluralityof.circum ferentially spaced spirally' designed grooves 6. The groovesare preferably arranged longitudinally of the dimension of the ball andterminate short of the pointed end 7 which ends are allowed to remain ofordinary construction so as 1932. serial No. 584,952

(cima-e5) not to injure the hand ofa potential receivery and so as notto interfere with kicking.

Each groove is substantially filled with an abrasive substance ormaterial 8 glued or otherwise secured in place. Any appropriate adhesivemay be provided for the purpose. Any suitable abrasive material may beemployed and it is preferably such in quantity as to besubstantiallyvflush with the surface of the cover. It has been found that-sand can beused as the abrasive material, the sand being held in the grooves bywaterproof glue. The gist of the inventive conception is vobviously inthe provision of external anti-slipping means on -the ball coverdesigned to promote dependable gripping and handling of the It isthought from the foregoing description that the vadvantagesV and novelfeatures of thev invention will bereadily apparent.

' It is to be understood that changes may be made in the constructionand in the combination` and arrangement of the several parts provvidedthat such changes fall Within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. As a new product of manufacture, a football including a conventionalshaped leather casing provided around its entire circumference .withlongitudinally disposed grooves filled with abrasive material.

2. As a new product of manufacture, a football of the 'class describedcomprising a conventional leather casing supplemented by the addition ofexternal circumferentially spaced spirally arranged grooves terminatingshort of the opposite ends of the casing, 'and abrasive material in saidgrooves disposed substantially ush with the gripping surface.

, JOHN L. BUCKNER..

JAMES `CLAY WARD.

